


Among the Hunters

by Vanesky



Category: Vampire Knight
Genre: Action, Cross Academy, Drama, Explicit Language, F/M, Friendship/Love, Humor, Hunter - Freeform, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, Vampires, Weapons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2018-01-19 23:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1488319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanesky/pseuds/Vanesky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Born and raised hunter, Seina Yagari has been assigned to attend Cross Academy in the aftermath of last year's turmoil.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Assignment

"You have a new assignment."

My father sat across the wooden table from me and the sunlight streamed into the kitchen making his usually light chestnut hair, a golden blonde. The rays highlighted the scattered patches of gray and made the deepening lines on his face stand out. His glasses hung low on his nose and his shirt was wrinkled from his apparent all-nighter spent working.

I nodded and stared at the half eaten donut and lukewarm coffee, my chin rested on my palm. I yawned and fingered my necklace with my other hand, dreary from my own late night. It was originally suppose to be only routine with one level E from the list, but instead I was ambushed by three of those bloodsuckers. I killed all of them just fine, but it was still tiring.

I heard the scratching of his scruff and looked up at him. He took another large gulp of coffee and loudly placed the cup back on the table.

"What is it?" I replied.

The corner of his mouth raised and he scratched his stubble again, "Well it's more of a favor really."

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms, "Meaning?"

"It's a favor for your brother."

"Toga? What's does he need from me?" I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

After this turbulent year Toga had been up to his neck with work, whether it being the fallout with the previous Association Head, the assassination of the Vampire Senate, or Cross Academy itself. It was a general state of unrest throughout both the Hunters and the Vampires, and things were now finally seeming to get back to normal. But I was honestly surprised he had asked me for anything now rather than before when everything was so hectic.

Dad leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head, "As you know, Toga had taken up the mantle of temporary Headmaster while Kaien Cross was absent."

I stifled the threat of a smile at his choice of words and covered my mouth, "You mean while he was forcibly detained, but wasn't the Headmaster just released?"

"Yes and now he's also the new president of the association."

I gave him a sarcastic laugh, "Wow. What a leap for him."

He shook his head and grinned, "Well given the circumstances, it's not that big of a leap."

"I guess not," I said.

"It's just," he stilled and looked outside at the cold winter sun.

I frowned at him, "It's just what?"

"It's just that the overall situation is still…" his eyes darted away, "unstable."

"What's your point?" I asked quickly. His beating around the bush provided me with no answers to the questions already rapidly developing in my head.

"We need some more eyes, some more support at the academy."

"And you're talking in regards to me, correct?"

He rubbed his chin, "Correct."

"So what does this entail?"

"Nothing too difficult, you will attend Cross Academy as a student and will help as a Hunter whenever needed."

I pursed my lips, this wasn't the worst assignment in the world, far from the best actually, but still a job was a job. And a job meant that I had to look at this from an objective point of view, though Cross Academy was always a place of mixed feelings. While I admired Kaien Cross's passion and rigor in trying to make a place where vampires and humans could truly coexist, I looked at the actual product with disdain. I, with the rest of the Hunters, held an immense distrust and dislike of that particular race. But due to the events from last year, there was no longer a night class and even if there was, I couldn't say no. Cross was a family friend and Toga was my brother. I had to accept, there was no other option.

I let out a heavy sigh and got up to clear the table.

"When do I start?"

"Tomorrow."

"Mmm," I hummed in agreement as I placed the dishes in the sink.

Toga never was one for giving a head's up on anything.

* * *

I scanned the open suitcase laying on my bed making sure I had gotten everything I needed. It was hard to pack for an indefinite amount of time. Kiba, my gray cat gently nudged his face on my leg. He was normally more of a loner, so I took his sudden affection as a sign that he knew I was going to be gone for a while. I spread out on the rug with him and petted him as I gazed up at the ceiling, twisting my neck around to survey my room. It was simple. An old wrought iron bed covered in white sheets sat in the middle next to two wooden nightstands, each with a different equally old desk lamp. Both of my large windows were open and the brisk air that flowed through made me wish I wasn't wearing cotton shorts.

His steps were heavy and he knew I could hear them as he walked toward my door, but he knocked out of politeness.

"Come in," I yelled as I scrambled up trying to look like I was still in the midst of packing.

The door opened and he was looked vastly superior compared to his prior state. Instead of his wrinkled and stained lab coat, he wore a heavy black trench coat matched with a pair a of brown dress shoes. He even shaved.

He leaned against the door frame, taking note of my partly empty suitcase, "Are you ready yet?"

"I think so, just bringing the essentials," I responded putting in another shirt and some extra ammo.

"Oh, I almost forgot, there's a meeting tomorrow between the association and the vampires. Kuran wants to establish some new guidelines about our co-existence, strengthen them, or whatever. So pack something nice."

I walked over to my dresser and rifled through my clothes to find something nice, as my dad put it, "Why the wardrobe policy? I thought it was just a standard thing."

He went over to my closet and got out a white lace dress, "After the meeting, they're throwing a ball and you're on security duty."

"That sounds just splendid," I said as I fished out a pair of shoes to go with.

I threw both items into my bag and hurriedly zipped it up, "I'll be done in a minute, I just need to put the uniform on."

After I heard the door thud close I stripped and managed to assemble the Cross Academy uniform together. It was a crisp black thing and it actually looked pretty nice, but I chose to not wear the necklace that went along with it. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and twisted my own round golden locket. It was a gift, inherited by me from my mother, much like my looks were too. I had her wild black waves, icy blue eyes, and even her medium-sized stature. Occasionally I witnessed my father staring at Toga and me with a longing in his eyes. We were in no doubt her children, almost reincarnations of her, and the only difference was that Toga had inherited dad's height.

I pushed a stray lock out my face and adjusted the red ribbon that had somehow managed to become loose. I really did look like a normal high school girl, of course not including the fact that hidden beneath my skirt was a gun holster wrapped around my thigh.

I took one last look-over and patted Kiba on the head before I left.

* * *

The drive did not take as long as expected, my dad took up the time briefing me on various things about the academy and the association. I stared out the window listening until a certain bit of news made me turn around and face him in awe. Was it possible to be surprised and not surprised at all? It was definitely news, but for some reason I was expecting it too.

"Zero. As in Zero Kiryuu is going to the next President of the Hunter's Association?"

It was his turn to stare out the window, "I had the same tone as you when I heard it."

"That's fucking fantastic. The slave to the Kuran Princess, is being groomed to be the next head," I leaned my head back into the headrest.

"It's about power, the next president needs to be able to scare the rest of the hunters into submission, and he has," he said the next words slowly with care, "plenty of power."

What he said was very true. Due to his circumstances and upbringing or that he had pureblood blood swirling around in his veins, he was extremely strong and skilled. Born to talented hunters, trained by Toga, and even turned into a vampire. He was an enigma of power.

I spent the rest of the car ride silent, thinking about all the things Toga had ever told me about Zero and Ichiru. I was pretty sure Zero was not even aware that Toga had a younger sister, though I already knew all about him. There was a certain professionalism about Toga that he kept very well disguised, he treated his students with an overwhelming familiarity, but kept particular things to himself, which included me. My father attributed that the reason was that he didn't want a distraction such as a girl the same age in the twins' lives, it would have interfered with their training. I knew better, their parents were high level hunters and dangerous to be around. They were frequent targets and it was unsafe for child me to have interacted with the family.

Unfortunately by the time I was of age and able to hold my own, Zero's parents were murdered and he was adopted by Kaien Cross, but now we were finally going to meet face to face. I still grieved silently that I will never get to meet Ichiru, but that book had closed already, a year ago when the academy was torn open into a battlefield.

As if my thoughts had lined up with my location, we pulled into the front of the school, I hadn't even registered when we passed through the main gate, the road leading up to the entrance seemed longer than I remembered from the few times I've visited in the past. I peered up at the large building, it was all arched windows and grey stone, giving off a very academic feel. In an odd way it was welcoming, with it's clean lines and condensed nature surrounding the premises. If you didn't already know, there was no way to tell that a group of vampires used to attend school here.

* * *

"Haven't seen you in a while."

"Come here," Toga reached out and enveloped me in a tight one-armed hug, as always he smelled like cigarettes and gunpowder.

We stood in the Headmaster's office and he looked ecstatic, "Oh my! You've grown and you look just like your mother, so beautiful! It's been far too long!" He jumped up and stuck both of his arms out, "Give me a hug!"

Like how everyone else dealt with his antics, I ignored him. Instead I turned back to Toga, "Loving the new President."

"Bullshit, he's just a figurehead, I get to do all the dirty work," he said gruffly.

I smiled, "I missed your crassness."

Toga gave me a small grin and another quick one-armed hug.

A bell went off and he glanced at the clock, "Class starts in 5 minutes, Kaito should be here by now to show you to class."

I didn't hear about this, "What do you mean by Kaito?"

"He-" He was cut off by the opening of the door.

"Sorry I'm late," Kaito smoothed his hair back and looked at me, "first day."

He was a student of Toga's and in the past, a frequent guest in my house. He didn't look very different, taller and more sturdy, but he still had the same dark sandy hair and brown eyes.

Toga's eyes squinted in frustration, "Kaito's a teacher in training here and right now in charge of your class while the homeroom teacher is out."

"Yeah I get the gist of it," I started to walk out, "class is going to start soon, see you later Toga."

He called out at me, "Call me Onii-," and the door slammed before he could finish.

I walked towards the third year classrooms, not really sure which one was mine.

"Wait," Kaito shouted behind me. I slowed and he caught up with me.

"So should I be calling you Takamiya-Sensei now?"

He chuckled, "Well you should, but it sounds so weird coming from you."

We had more of a brother-in-arms relationship, an easy camaraderie.

"You've been gone for a long time." For some reason it sounded like an accusation.

He nodded and stared straight ahead, "Yeah, I have."

I looked at him and the corner of his lips were slightly turned downwards, "So how many times have you been a 'teacher in training' now?"

"Fourth time," he said as he smirked and stopped in front of a classroom door, "So any aliases or covers for you?"

"No. I'm myself."

"Great," he paused and ruffled my hair, "Missed you, kid."


	2. Explanations

Skipping class on the first day of school was never a good idea, but by the time lunch rolled by I had to get out of there. Kaseumi Kageyama, the class president, brought it upon himself to be my de facto welcome committee. It was nice of him, really, but he hovered and I wanted to punch in his glasses after the 5th time he came by asking if I wanted a school tour.

When Kaito called out Zero's name for attendance there was no answer and none of his fellow classmates even blinked an eye. It seemed skipping was the normal thing for him. I took it that missing the rest of the day wouldn't be the end of the world.

I drifted through the forest, letting my mind wander aimlessly.

My eyebrows knitted in concern when the school stables came into view. I sensed a vampire and as I got closer I could hear the noises of discomfort the horses were making. I walked in slowly, the only sounds that filled the air was the whining of the horses and a heavy breathing that I assumed came from Zero. He was struggling, no doubt about it, with his thirst.

I traced the gun under my skirt just in case the approaching situation became threatening. Carefully I turned into his view. He laid there panting, clutching the straw underneath him. A white horse was curled around him like a guardian.

"Zero."

He snapped forward, placing his arm on his knee. His amethyst colored eyes were covered by the silver strands that fell into his face. He needed a haircut.

He glared at me and I could see why the day class girls reacted the way they did when I asked about him. His face was handsome and a mysterious air surrounded him, but his gaze was cold and hard. I admit that it almost made me want to pull out my gun.

"You shouldn't be here," his voice was as equally chilling and laced with irritation.

I wasn't sure where I stood with him. He was a vampire now, but I knew that it didn't mean anything unless he became a level E. Some of the feelings from years ago suddenly resurged, the jealousy of the attention and devotion he had gotten from Toga clouded my mind. I felt like a child again.

I squared my jaw and tried to match his tone, "The rest of the horses seem really agitated, kind of scared, but this one seems so comfortable around you," I glared back at him directly, "it's almost  _primal_."

His eyes widened in surprise, clearly understanding the meaning behind the word.

"Who are you?" He questioned.

"I'm a transfer student," the corners of my mouth curved upwards, "Seina."

I turned away and started for the exit, "Yagari."

I heard him shoot forward, I peeked back and he was glowering, advancing for me.

He opened his mouth, but before he got a word in, he was interrupted.

"Oh! Yagari-san, Zero-kun, I didn't mean to bother you two." Sayori Wakaba stood there hesitantly. She was petite and her short honey hair curved inwardly, framing her face and large brown eyes.

"That's alright, Wakaba-san," I grinned at her, "I was just leaving."

I sauntered away, trying to seem at ease, but really discreetly going as fast as I could without being obvious.

* * *

What was Kaito scheming?

I had just watched the whole exchange between him and Wakaba. I knew that she was one of the students that were allowed to keep her memories regarding last year's incident, but I didn't know that she had a friend who was a vampire. Now Kaito had promised to take her to tomorrow's ball, had he lost his mind?

He noticed my presence and smirked as he went over to me.

"You hear everything?"

I hit his arm, "Yes, what are you thinking of bringing a human along? Have you gone insane?"

He rubbed the spot I smacked, "I think we can manage taking care of one person."

"We?"

He dipped forward, placing his lips near my ear, "We," he whispered

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. It was already a done deal, knowing him I couldn't do or say anything to stop him and we both knew that the two of us were perfectly able to keep one human safe.

"How are you going to explain it to Zero? He's definitely not going to like this."

He leaned on the wall and crossed his arms, "If anyone touches her, he gets the excuse to do anything he want. Kill, anyone he wants."

I hoped it didn't have to come to that. It was true though, I knew that Zero would love nothing more than to be able to get at everyone attending the party, he was so full of hatred and right now it was all aimed at two particular purebloods.

"What class do you teach here anyway?" I asked.

"Ethics."

"Of course."

* * *

I knocked on the heavy wooden door before me, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," she called out, "You know you don't have to do that, after all this is your room too."

"Sorry Wakaba-san, you had the only room with an empty bed."

"No, it's nice," she looked wistfully out the window, "I miss sharing with someone."

The headmaster had told me just who her friend was and I felt for her. She must have been so lonely when her best friend was suddenly whisked away into an unknown world. Her friend did not turn out to be just any vampire though, but the top of top, a pureblood, a Kuran.

I've actually met Yuki once on a visit to the academy before Zero started to live there. She was so bright and lively, no one would've ever thought that she had turned out to be a vampire.

I went to my suitcase, and undressed putting on the dress for tonight, "Come on, I'll help you get ready for the ball."

She looked confused for only a second and then I saw the understanding appear on her face, "Are you a hunter?" She asked in a clear voice, unfazed. Clearly, she was a brave one, or maybe just extremely tolerant.

"Yes," I said as I brushed the top half of my hair to the back, pushing in several bobby pins to get it to stay in place. I left my face bare, except for the miniscule amount of mascara coating my lashes.

"You look beautiful."

I shot her a weak smile and chose to accept the compliment instead of arguing. She wasn't one for petty comments, I could tell.

"You're much cuter." I sprayed a little hairspray in to make it stay and place and motioned for to get up, "Do you have anything to wear?"

She stood and got out a simple long periwinkle gown paired with a light ivory wrap.

"Perfect," I looked her over and she was very much the epitome of natural beauty, but it was understated and I could tell the older she got the more exemplified it would become, "No need for any makeup or hair, just put it on."

I turned away to give her some privacy and waited until she was done.

"Okay."

I swung around and beamed, "You look great, I like the gloves."

She looked so delicate, and the dress seemed to bring out the grace and femininity in her.

"Thanks, that's a pretty necklace."

I nodded in agreement, and clutched it, "It was my mother's."

Her face was downcast clearly noting my past tense, "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it was a long time ago."

There was a comfortable silence and I slipped on a pair of black heels. I grabbed my trench coat and made for the door.

"Let's go Wakaba-san."

She followed and lightly touched my arm, "You can call me Yori."

I gave her a soft look, "Call me Seina."

We briskly walked to the car where Kaito was waiting for us.

"Hello Takamiya-sensei."

"You both look nice," he said as he reached into the back of the car for something.

"You look pretty good yourself Kaito. What are you doing?"

He took out a large trunk, big enough to fit a small person.

I looked at Yori with sympathy.

* * *

"Are you ready?" I called through the thin walls as I stood in the old apartment.

The door opened and Zero stood there wordlessly buttoning his shirt. He shifted, giving me a path inside.

"I'm here to pick you up."

No reply, not to my surprise. I surveyed the room, it was sparse, but clean. There was a gaping hole in one of the walls, revealing a bed and nothing else.

"The headmaster told me."

I bit my lip, "About?"

"Who you are." He pulled at his sleeve and started to put on cuff links.

"Anything else?"

He motioned to the dress jacket lying on the chair in the corner, I got it and gave it to him.

"No, he said that's for you to say."

I could hear the faint hint of sadness in his voice. He had finally realized that his teacher and mentor, who he had known almost his whole life had never mentioned anything about me. I'm sure that it was an unsettling realization to realize his master was keeping such a big thing hidden for so long.

I gripped my necklace, "What do you want to know?"

"Why didn't Yagari teach you?" He was finished dressing and we stood there still, staring at each other. That really wasn't what he actually wanted to ask.

"In our family it's tradition to have our father be our teacher," I explained.

He interjected, "He's not a hunter."

"He was, he retired early, after my mother's death." I sighed, "Anymore questions?"

"Why have I never met you before?" That was the real question and his eyes narrowed in anger, "Why is it that everyone knows you, but me? Why didn't anyone tell me anything?"

I understood his feelings. It wasn't fair to have gone through everything he had and still be in the dark about certain things.

"I've always wanted to meet you… and Ichiru."

He tensed at the mention of Ichiru's name, I felt so bad that I had bring up more of his past.

"You know we're the same age."

His lips pursed in impatience.

"Your parents were really talented hunters."

He turned his head away and I could no longer see his face. I focused on the tattoo on his neck and continued talking.

"And that made them targets and unsafe, especially for a child to be around. Toga thought it would be better to just not let you both know about me rather than having to explain why I couldn't be around your family. He was planning to introduce us when we were all 13, and then," I paused and chose not to say what we both knew about, "you were adopted by Cross and… you know the rest."

His jaw clenched and he reached for his coat and darted out the room, "Let's go." His tone had relaxed a little.

He waited in the hall, holding the door open, I walked through and glanced back at him, "Thanks."

Kaito was leaning on the door of the car and tried to push down a yawn, "You guys took longer than expected."

Zero didn't say anything and climbed in the front passenger seat, closing the door abruptly.

"We talked a bit," I said.

I went up to the other door placing a hand on the handle, Kaito reached out and touched my wrist, stopping me. I halted, he towered over me and I peeked up at him, his face twisted in concern. His hand was warm, making me realize what a cold night it was.

"All you alright?" He asked gingerly, his breath turned into vapor.

I provided him with a sheepish grin, "I'm fine, I'm just glad Zero knows now," I peered at him through the car window, "He handled it pretty well."

Zero's palm covered his mouth and it looked like his eyes were closed in frustration.

"Good," he replied and he met my eyes. His hand went towards me and he delicately brushed a stray lock of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"You do look very nice tonight," Kaito's thumb lingered on my cheek and I could smell the small amount of cologne he had on.

I ducked backwards, my cheeks warming somewhat and I opened the car door.

"Thank you." I swiftly replied as I sat and closed the door.


	3. A Vampire's Ball

We stood in the hallway on top of a large staircase that led down to a massive ballroom.

All of our face were identical, stone and serious. We waited silently, motionless, for the vampires to arrive.

This was an important negotiation regarding the future our two kinds. We were to be formally introduced to the new ruler of the vampires, the pureblood, Kaname Kuran. In addition its purpose was to re-establish our coexistence and cooperation. The ball was to reinforce the idea to the vampire society that both sides are working together towards peace. It was needed after the year's turmoil, but it was a delicate situation where the smallest thing could break this tiny amount of compromise that had created this event.

The steps of the incoming group echoed throughout the high ceilings. Tension filled the air as the vampires arrived in front of us and eventually the ballroom become soundless again. Kuran lead the pack and his red-brown eyes remained expressionless, his lips curving downwards. He was beautiful in an eerie way, so were many of the others that stood behind him, but I pushed the thought away, they were all beats in human form after all.

Kuran tilted his head in acknowledgement to Cross and he mirrored his actions. The older blonde man beside Kuran headed to the ornate wooden double doors that was in between the two parties. He opened it and the click resonated through the marble floors.

We filed in the room and Cross and Toga took a seat across the long table from Kuran. I stood behind Toga next to Zero, he wore a small frown much like me and all the other hunters in the room. It wasn't an act of intimidation but the natural reaction of us when in the presence of bloodsuckers such as them.

Kuran placed his hand on top of the table and started first, "The position of leader of our society may have moved to me, but that is all. It naturally does not mean that the lifestyle or the principles of our race would have changed as well."

He spoke eloquently, like a true politician. I shuddered inwardly.

"Is it not the same with your Association sirs? The one common point of change we have is that both sides got to 'drive the pus out of their wounds' with all of this."

The lightness he put onto the prior ordeals we had to face made me want to call him out on it, but Toga did it for me instead.

"'Driving the pus out,' huh? You don't say!?" I could hear the irritation that laced his voice, "We are still busy like hell driving out the 'pus' that came pouring out of the former vampire government because of that!"

Kuran responded coolly, "I am deeply sorry that I could not be of further assistance to you in all that. Your ancestors a long, long time ago, were so determined to get their hands on enough power to exterminate vampires, that they went as far as devouring a founding ancestor of our race to gain it."

Toga's eyebrows knitted in annoyance, "Can you get any more blatant than that in your implications that we ought to take care of the exterminating process to atone for in the sins of our ancestors?

Kuran replied with a chuckle, "I apologize, my words were inappropriate." His gaze shifted towards Zero.

Zero stared back looking like he would very much enjoy shooting him straight in the face. I had only a brief understanding about their past and I wondered about the things that had happened between before when Kuran had attended the academy. The three second interaction seemed like three hours.

Kuran broke the trance, "Headmaster, no sorry, Mr. President," he turned to Cross, "Yuki is doing well. She'll be at the party later, so you'll be able to calmly spend time with her."

Cross held his hands together and raised it to his chin and nodded, "I will, thank you. Moving on…" His hands lowered, "In conclusion of this meeting, our societies will go on working together for the sake of co-existence on a higher level of cooperation than ever before and unless we have a legitimate reason, the Hunter Association will pose no threat to your lives."

I was surprised by his cordial demeanor which clashed with his usual cheerful self. His serious expression is one that I've only seen a handful of times, and more so after his "daughter" had awakened to join the people who stood before us.

"As for us," Kuran continued, "we believe that collaborating with the association is the best choice for both of our races to be able to go on existing together and so our race will also take upon itself to deliver eternal sleep to any of our kind unduly presenting a threat to human lives."

His eyes narrowed, "The true complete 'co-existence' as you envision it, is still a long road away, because before it can become a reality, all of us vampires will have to first manage to overcome our violent nature and become a different sort of creature, sincere and capable of relying completely on reasoning and logic instead."

Kuran got up from his chair and began to walk away.

Cross stopped him, "Representative Kuran, I have one last question to ask you. The way you solved the senate problem was too drastic. Are you certain that despite that, the rest of the vampire population will accept you as their leader? Especially the other purebloods?"

He peered over his shoulder and gave a smug smile, "Indeed… I guess we will have the answer to that question by seeing the percentages of invitees that attends the ball tonight, won't we?" He stepped out of the room and his grouped followed after him.

Kaname Kuran was definitely a person not to be trifled with. He was sly, clever and clearly kept us in the dark on various things, which made him even more dangerous than before. That was saying a lot considering he had killed the whole senate, what more could he do?

The hunter's started to exit into the hall and the meeting was over.

A tremendous feeling of relief washed over me and I stepped out to walk behind Toga. He noticed and pivoted towards me with a slight grin, "You're wearing a dress."

"And heels too, thank you." I looked him over and reached out to straighten his shirt and jacket, " _You're_ wearing a mess."

"That's my style," he argued, but let me continue.

"Messy isn't a style."

I started to brush his hair out if his face, but when I got to his eyepatch he moved away, "Leave it, Seina."

"Right," he preferred that part of his face more covered than, "Sorry," I tentatively touched his sleeve.

Toga acted like it wasn't, but his eye was still a sensitive topic for him. It wasn't the loss of his eye itself, but my previous reaction to it. I had gone mental, ready to kill that student that I've never met before for bringing harm to my brother. I knew it wasn't actually Zero's fault and we were so young at the time, but after seeing his wounds I freaked out. First it was anger and violence that flooded my mind, but after I calmed down, I became distant and recluse for a long time. I was terrified by the thought of losing another family member and Toga took it personally.

He covered my hand with his and nodded with a much warmer expression, "It's fine." Toga quickly gripped my hand tightly and let it go.

"Get downstairs, they are arriving now."

* * *

I watched the vampires glide across the ballroom, mingling and dancing with each other. Objectively, it looked elegant, the very image of class and high society. I saw many familiar faces, some prominent celebrities and business men in the human world and I frowned in distaste. They could so easily interlope with their prey, hidden in plain sight, it was disgusting.

I peeked to my left and caught the end of the conversation Kaito was having with Zero, "...you get violent and I think you might harm me… I'll definitely kill you."

Zero looked on ahead, unalarmed and I acted the same way. Kaito did really care about Zero, but we were all aware that if one us turned into a level E, we wouldn't hesitate pulling that trigger. Kaito had already done so, years ago, to his own brother. It was the price to pay, being a hunter and we had live with it just like everyone else.

Kaito stuck his hands in his pockets and caught my eye, "Well, well. It's time for the ever so boring surveillance job."

The corner of my lips rose and I was going to say something when someone came behind him rolling a large trunk, "Here's the luggage you had left with us earlier, sir."

"'Ah, thanks," Kaito answered.

My eyes widened, remembering Yori and I went over to it.

He hummed as he started to undo the latches. It opened, "Your patience has paid off, you can come out now," he said into the trunk.

Yori carefully crept forward, looking nervous. I offered my hand and she took it giving me a look of appreciation.

Zero jumped and grabbed Kaito's collar in surprise, "Kaito! What the!"

Kaito retorted calmly, "Relax I can protect a single human no problem." Zero hesitantly let go of him. "How about you watch over her too, if you're so worried?"

Zero's lips became a hard line and he didn't object, knowing that he couldn't do anything about her being here now.

"Alright Wakaba-Kun," Kaito turned his head to her, "Go ahead and go look for that friend of yours. The only condition is that you remain where Seina or I can see you."

"Yes," responded Yori and she went into the crowd.

Our eyes followed her and Kaito chose to comment, "And now we have a little lamb joining the party."

I tugged at Zero's arm, making him look at them, "Take a look Zero, do you see the bloodsuckers' eyes changing color as she passes?'

Zero grimaced and Kaito finished my thought, "If by any chance one of those vampires make a move to harm Wakaba, you'll have have right there a perfectly legal reason to make your move." The room became noisier and every head shifted to address the arrival of someone, "And to kill that vampire."

Yuki and Kaname Kuran had finally made their entrance.

Much like Yori she had an understated beauty which I had seen before through pictures. She would've been more accurately described as cute, but now her demeanor was much different. Her vampiric side brought out her inner femininity and she gracefully made her way in the horde of people.

Kaname tilted his head, whispering something into her ear and she smiled, going forward. She lagged as her eyes fixed upon Zero. They stared directly at each other as if a path had been made in their view. If looks could kill, Zero's glare would have made Yuki Kuran drop dead on the floor.

She tilted her head in a bow and continued onwards arm in arm with Kaname.

I realized Toga from the other side, had been watching the exchange in addition to Kaito and I. His head hung down and his chest rose and fell, a breath of relief I imagine.

Soon Yuki was swarmed by the aristocratic vampires who covered her small frame from view. Their faces were shaped by hunger and greed. Purebloods were the ultimate prey to vampires, blood even more valuable than their lovers. The only reason purebloods haven't all gone extinct was because at a moment's whim they could control each and every vampire in this room.

I changed my focus to Yori who was bravely getting through the masses. She was stopped by several vampires, leering at her, but each time in a clear voice she excused herself and pursued her goal of finding her friend.

The three of us remained still and alert, ready at a moment's notice to interfere if the situation go out of hand.

Yori was interrupted again and then a path was formed for a long haired woman. The murmurs of "Sara-sama" and "pureblood" filled my ears and I gripped the gun beneath my dress.

She started to talk to Yori and the noise level around them died down, "Were you trying to go greet the hosts of the party by any chance? If you'd like, I'd be glad to offer to take you to see them." Sara reached to take Yori's hand. I prepared to go intervene, but Zero appeared and grabbed it pulling her hand away from Yori.

"Don't go touching a human so easily pureblood," Zero stated, the undertone of anger seething out.

The murmurs changed to shock and comments were made about the audacity of that "rude" hunter.

Yori nervously tried to sooth him, "Zero-kun, you are mistaken, this person was just going to-"

"Please let me through," a voice yelled, Yuki Kuran pushed her way through the crowd. She looked at Yori in surprise, "So it was really you, Yori-chan. Are you okay?"

"Yuki," Yori smiled, "I'm fine really, this person was going to help me go see you, and-"

Yuki appraised the scene and placed her hand on top of Zero's, who was still tightly grasping Sara's.

"Would you please let go of her. She is one of our precious guests."

"Don't touch me," Zero said, his eyes shooting daggers.

Yuki looked down a I speculated, in hurt, "I'll stop touching you if you let go of her."

Zero tucked his hand away and grabbed Yori's, dragging her over to us.

She tried to defend Yuki asking if it was so wrong to want to talk to her. His face twisted, "The woman who offered to help you, she smelled of freshly spilled blood."

He pushed Yori to me, "Wakaba stay near these two, don't wander off."

Kaito leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, "Good thing you didn't take my bait. Despite how you are practically dripping with the urge to kill them."

The corner of Zero's eyes watched Kaito, "I'm used to having my patience put to test."

A blonde and blue eyed vampire called out to us, "Hey Kiryu, Wakaba!"

We shifted our attention to him, "It's been a while. Would the two of you give us a little hour of your time? We wish for you to come meet Yuki-sama. It's a request from the host of this party, Kaname-sama."

Yori looked worried, "Aido-senpai, is that really okay?"

"Why don't you just go?" Kaito leaned forward, "Your friend is the little Kuran princess right? I got the feeling that she's a good girl. Nothing but a lion cub for now."

He pushed Yori forward, "It's fine, go! And hey, Zero will be there with you anyway."

"Ah," Yori glanced at me and I nodded, "okay."

Aido started to go, "Follow me."

They left and Kaito put a hand in his hair in frustration, "How annoying."

"What is it really okay to leave them like that?" I asked

He looked up at the above balcony, "It should be fine."

I followed his gaze seeing Cross and a few other people there.

"Reassuring."


	4. Dagger and Ashes

Toga tapped me on the shoulder, appearing from behind a pillar, his face was grim. He gestured to us with his finger, "You two, come with me." Kaito and I looked at each other in alarm, wondering what had caused his worried expression.

"What's going on?" I questioned as we both copied his fast pace towards the upper floor.

He kept walking in a hurry, not looking back, "A previously missing hunter was found dead."

I rushed ahead, following the glimpse of Cross's coat that had passed the hallway. I entered the room after him and scanned it, accessing the situation before me. A tall vampire with orange hair stood in the middle next to a table that was covered by a white sheet. Zero stood to the side near Cross who was crouched, observing a hunter who laid strewn on the blood stained floor. I walked in further examining the scene and there was a small bit of dust like material collecting below the table.

"Hey," I called to the vampire, "uncover that," I pointed next to him.

He raised an eyebrow and lifted the sheet revealing the pile of ashes shaped in the image of a person. There were fragments of something sharp and glass looking sticking into the torso.

The vampire widened his eyes at the honey brown haired girl next to him, "Ruka, it's Ouri-sama."

"A pureblood," I said, recalling the list of people I memorized for the ball.

Ruka nodded, sullen, "He was missing earlier."

"Oh hey, Yuki," Cross said looking up from the body. "Um, stay over there. You better not get any closer or your dress will get dirty."

I turned to see her coming in, shock in her eyes. "What… happened here?"

He sighed, "A truly regrettable occurrence, apparently one of our hunters fell into a condition where the only choice that was left for him was to take his own life with his weapon. Here, see?" He pointed to the dagger that the hunter held which was lodged into his chest, "He's slowly turning into ashes, starting from the very tip of his fingers, and also…"

"On his neck," Zero lowered his eyes, "you can see the marks where he was bitten by a vampire."

Yuki gripped her dress, "I will definitely find whoever did this."

I clenched my jaw, every hunter in the area was hurting and angry about losing a brother and she was the one that needed to find the culprit.

"Stay out of this, this isn't something to play with." Zero seemed to be echoing my own thoughts.

"I know that," she shouted, "I'm no longer Yuki Cross, who didn't know anything about the world and had no power to do anything." She stepped forward and her foot was smeared by the puddle of blood, "If something… if something bad is happening, then I will take action to protect my loved ones, definitely."

"Yuki," Kaname said from behind her, emerging from the door frame, "You should get back to the room before the scent of the blood affects you."

"But the party is already-"

Zero cut her off and glared at him, "With what just happened here, the farce of a party is obviously over, Kuran."

He ignored Zero and extended his hand forward beckoning for Yuki to come, "That's my job, so you don't have to take part in this, Yuki."

She pursed her lips and joined him, leaving the room.

I walked over to Cross and crouched next to him inspecting the body, "What's the plan?"

"We need to get this over to association headquarters," he stood up and motioned me for me to do the same. "I think it's best if you and Zero head back. It's late and you both have classes in the morning."

"No. I'm staying," Zero said.

"I am too," I repeated, getting up.

Cross's eyebrows knotted, "There's nothing that can done right now, just do as I say."

I knew he was right, there was nothing we could do at the moment besides follow his orders, but I hated feeling so useless.

"Fine." I exited the scene as Kaito walked in, grasping my arm, "Where are you going?"

I shook his arm off and didn't stop, "I've been told to go back."

Zero's footsteps were behind me as I walked out of the building and down the street. I turned around and he stayed silent.

"There's no need to follow me. Go back to your apartment, I'll see you tomorrow at school… maybe," I added knowing his tendency in skipping.

He didn't say anything, but I took it as a yes so I kept going.

After a few seconds I looked back, "Seriously, just go."

"It's a 40 minute walk," he said not looking at me directly.

"I know, that's why you should go home and get some sleep."

"I'm walking you."

I scowled at him, "I don't need you to watch over me, I can protect myself."

Zero frowned and continued in front of me.

I rolled my eyes and followed. He could do whatever he wanted, I was perfectly capable keeping myself from harm and it wasn't my problem if he believed me or not.

Something hard hit the back of my head and I woke up not realizing I even had fallen asleep.

"Getting some beauty sleep Yagari?" Kaito said with a smirk and a book hovering above me.

I sarcastically grinned, "Sorry, Takamiya-sensei."

He went over to the other side of the classroom and did the same to Zero who had his arms wrapped around his head.

Yori patted my arm and asked, "Late night?"

"Yeah, did you get back alright?" I suddenly felt very irresponsible for not making sure that she had gotten home safe.

"Aido-senpai arranged for someone to drive me," she looked confused, "I was asleep before you returned, did you not notice?"

"No," I weakly smiled, "I was pretty much in a daze once I got in the dorm."

"Is everything okay, I mean, Yuki smelled blood," her face filled with concern.

I debated whether or not I should tell her the truth. It wasn't needed to involve a human in this, but she already was, with her best friend being a part of the Kuran clan.

I made a decision and took a large intake of breath, "Everything is fine, we took care of it."

"Oh, okay."

We both knew that I wasn't filling her in with all the details but she accepted the choice I had made. It was unnecessary to let her know, it would have only make her uselessly worry over something she had no control over.

The bell rung for lunch and Yori stood up turning to me, "Do you want to join me for lunch?"

"Thanks," I felt guilty for not telling her what actually had happened and rejected her offer, "but I'm going to eat with Zero."

Her lips turned upwards in a knowing manner, "Good luck with that," and she went towards the cafeteria.

I pushed myself from the desk and walked over to Zero, shaking his already sleeping form. "It's time for lunch, eat with me."

He sat up and said nothing, shooting me an irritated look.

"I have something to tell you," I sneered, "and I'm not taking no for an answer."

He reluctantly complied and got up, making his way to the door. I followed him, not actually knowing where the cafeteria was.

After getting our food we sat down at a corner table located next to a long window.

"What time did you get home last night?"

He had walked me all the way to the front of the girl's dorm door. I know I didn't ask him to, but I still felt partially in debt for the extra detour he made.

He gave me a pointed look and replied, "I didn't bother."

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

He gazed out the window, "I stayed in the Headmaster's quarters."

"Right, you used to live there."

He nodded slowly.

I changed the subject noticing his lull, "I'm suppose to remind you that we have a follow up meeting today at headquarters."

Zero took a sip of his water frowning. I took a sip of mine, my eyes remaining fixed on his face. I had a feeling that he knew I wasn't sitting here with him to just eat lunch and make conversation.

"I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me."

He turned his head to face me and I went on feeling like a starry eyed school girl for the sentence I was about say.

"How are you feeling… about me."

Zero said nothing once again and I was getting annoyed by his repeating lack of responses.

"After what I told you last night, what am I to you?" I wanted to know Zero's level of comfort with me and I had no other way to phrase it.

After a long minute, he finally said something, "You have known about me all your life and I just recently discovered that you even existed. I don't know what to feel."

I pressed my lips together and looked down expecting his answer to have been similar to that.

"But, I also know that you're Yagari's sister and Kaito trusts you." He stood and lifted his tray, "And that means something to me."

I nodded and let him go, grateful for his response.

All of a sudden the chairs around me scratched against the floor and they were filled with several girls and even more crowded behind them. They all stared at me, some in annoyance and others in sheer curiosity.

I gathered my things together and started to stand from the chair, "I guess this table has been claimed."

Two hands abruptly pushed me down and they all yelled at me with a mixture of "No" and "Stay!"

I scrunched my eyebrows in bewilderment, "What is happening?"

Another mixture of "Zero," "how," "Kiryuu," and "why," filled my ears.

I stuck my hands out in front of me, "Stop! Please, just one person speak at a time."

I faced the girl who sat directly in front of me eyed her, signaling for her to talk. She wore glasses in front her of blue eyes and her light brown hair was split into two pigtails.

"Oh! Um, I'm Nadashinko Shindo and we were all wondering if you were Zero's girlfriend."

My eyes widened in astonishment, "Why would you all think that?"

The girl next to Shindo spoke, "He never comes to the cafeteria and he barely ever talks to anyone!"

"Okay," I agreed, "But why does it matter?"

Someone from behind grabbed my shoulder and twisted me to face her, "It matters because he's an unattainable prince and we've all mutually agreed to watch him from afar. Just because you're a little pretty or that you're new or that you're Yagari-sensei's sister, doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."

I grimaced in irritation, this was so high school. But then I remembered that I was currently in high school, along with this group of girls who were all secretly vying for Zero.

I pushed her hand away and stood, already fed up with this bull. "I'm not his girlfriend, so I would appreciate it if you didn't interrogate me in the middle of the cafeteria," I said to her in a purposely calm tone.

The same girl called to me as I walked away, "We're watching you Yagari!"

I looked over my shoulder and glared at her. She shrunk back and quickly averted her gaze. I huffed in frustration and returned to the classroom as fast as possible.

Zero was leaning against a wall near the girl's dorm room entrance when I saw him. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed, he clearly didn't notice the looks he was getting from the day class girls as they passed by.

I remembered hearing from Toga about how annoyingly fixated the girls were to the night class boys. I guess after having their memories swiped they directed all of their excess feelings for them at Zero.

Honestly, I had no inclination to abide to the rules that those girls had told me to follow earlier today, I truly just didn't care. I also figured out by now that my objective at this school was not just to be there for support, but also to help Kaito keep Zero in check. He had appeared in control at the party, but it seemed that at any moment he could break.

I started to walk towards him and his eyes snapped open. I stopped as he pushed himself off the wall and made his way over to me, "What are you doing here?"

"You said that there was a meeting today."

"Yeah, I was just going to go change first." I went past him and he brought his arm in front of me.

"There's no time, we're going to be late."

"It's alright," I said, trying to go under his arm, "you can go on ahead. I'll meet you there."

He looked at me with a piercing glare, "We're going now."

I inwardly rolled my eyes and tried to taunt him, "You know, some of these girls think that we're dating, don't want them to get the wrong idea do you?"

He turned away and his hair blocked his face, but I saw the slight grin that was developing on his lips, "Is this funny to you?"

He remained silent and stepped away from me.

"It is!"

Still nothing, so I resided in walking away from him, towards the exit so I could head to the meeting myself.

He caught up to me and under his breath he said, "so that's why they mauled you today."

I didn't bother saying a word to him for the rest of the way there.

Until we had actually arrived I realized that we really were late, the headquarters were way too far from the academy. I had to remind my father to drop off my bike from home, there was no way I was going to walk each and every time I needed to go to HQ.

We both entered into the back of Cross's office as he started to talk, "Well, regardless of whether this incident was a suicide or not, the one remaining undeniable truth is that one of our hunters was used and thrown away like a disposable tool, losing his life in the process."

Toga clicked his tongue, "Yeah and by the hand of a pureblood, one way or another. This isn't a joking matter," his eyes narrowed, "The next bloodsucker who wants to die so bad just has to tell me. I'll gladly help by killing them myself."

"There won't be a 'next one' like that really." Cross said, lowering his hands, "Think of the mess if we were to let this sort of thing repeat itself. There's no way it will happen."

"Actually," Zero interrupted, his expression grave, "I think this thing is just beginning."


	5. Hand and Humanity

The meeting was finished and the hunters quickly dispersed from Cross's office, before I could leave, Toga pulled me aside.

"You were late."

"Yeah, remind me to get my bike from the house, the school is way too far away."

He smirked, "You're still riding that thing?"

I smiled at him, feeling smug, "Fixed it up too, replaced some parts in the engine, it's a gem."

Toga chuckled and tousled my hair, "Well I should be informing you on what you missed."

"Go ahead."

"But that doesn't matter, what matters is that we're all currently under orders not to hunt alone."

I waved him off, "Okay yeah, I won't."

Toga squinted his eyes at me and came closer, "I mean it, Seina."

I looked at him straight, "I won't."

He relented and let me go. I got out of Cross's office and saw Kaito waiting beside the door.

"Come on, kid" he gestured to me, "let's get some dinner."

I grinned as I noticed how empty my stomach was, but I also knew that his actual motive wasn't just to get something to eat. It wasn't my concern though, I was about to get some free food.

We entered a small quaint cafe and I ordered a ordered a warm sandwich, thankful to get out of the cold. We chatted quietly and the sky outside quickly turned dark.

"So what's on your mind?" I asked after the 5th time he looked out the window, pausing mid conversation. His worried face was painfully obvious to me and I was aware that the cause of it was why he invited me out.

"Nothing, I just wanted to spend some time with you," Kaito said reaching out to grasp my hand.

I moved it away, "Just tell me."

He sighed, "It's Zero, he was right about this only being the beginning of what's to come, I want to get to the bottom of it."

This time I reached out and grasped his hand, "Is that all?"

He turned his hand over and tightened his grip on mine, "No, I also think that he's pretending to be calm but in reality he's emotionally unstable. He's repressing things. And he left the meeting with  _that_ face, I don't want him going out there and doing something dangerous."

"I think that he's perfectly capable of handling himself," I brought my free hand to my head, resting on it, "though I wouldn't mind if we stopped by his place."

Kaito nodded and leaned forward pulling a strand of my hair, a smile crept onto his lips making his warm eyes crinkle, "And I did want to spend some time with you, it's been too long."

I sat there frozen, not knowing what to say in return. He let go, threw some money on the table, and grabbed his jacket. Kaito walked to the door and held it, waiting for me, "Come on."

I followed behind him and my hand felt suddenly very empty, I stuffed it into my pocket, paying the feeling no heed.

We saw his figure go into the apartment building as we arrived on the street and we looked at each other, both knowing that he had been out hunting alone.

Kaito entered into his room and I stayed out, leaning further down the wall beside the door. He had known Zero for a very long time and though our relationship looked like it was getting better, we weren't close enough that I would allow myself to be there.

Kaito propped himself against the door frame, leaving it ajar.

He clicked his tongue, "You really are something," he crossed his arms, "You don't seem to care at all that we're currently under orders to not go hunting alone. Looks like dangerous behavior."

Something crashed and Zero responded, "I was never given such orders," and the door closed.

I shut my eyes and tried to focus on the murmurs through the wall. I trusted Zero… so far. He  _appeared_ in control like Kaito had said, but his vampire side was something I still worried about. Zero was no longer human, and though he was the same person, it was still a characteristic about him that made me worried.

I heard a violent slam and I immediately jumped forward. I ran to the door and burst it open, finding Kaito holding Zero by his collar and pressing him against the dresser. They focused on each other, not noticing that I had came in.

"Tell me what's with the gun!" he yelled, what was he talking about? "Tell me before you repress everything and it becomes too late to fix anything! When you're emotionally unstable that becomes my problem!"

Zero offered no resistance, and Kaito continued, though arguably more relaxed than before, "I have been closely watching you ever since I was assigned to this place. I have also tried instigating you, waiting to see your reactions. Sure, there's no doubt that you seem to be the ideal future association president, you don't let anything slip. But under the surface, you're emotionally terribly unstable. It's unbelievable that you can even patch things up enough to maintain such apparent calm on the surface," he paused ending his rant, "Do you even realize it?"

Zero continued to gaze downwards, "I actually don't feel any of what you described. As for the gun, there was a human with special abilities allowing her to use hunter weapons. Random circumstances made that she was near me and so I had her carrying that pistol as a sort of 'insurance' just in case."

His eyes darted and I followed them, noticing the small pistol laying on his bed. Was he talking about Yuki Kuran when she was still Yuki Cross? I wasn't aware that their previous relationship had caused such a toll on him.

"On nights where the urge to go kill vampires is nearly impossible to resist, having that gun there helps cool me down at least a tiny bit."

Kaito narrowed his eyes, "Vampires you want to kill, huh?" Does that include that pureblood from the ball?"

Zero's face was sullen and his lips turned downwards, I've never seen him look so raw and vulnerable before, but he snapped out of it and stared at him, "Purebloods are wretched creatures from which only tragedy is born. This is the only truth that will never change. Isn't it that way, Kaito?"

"I received orders sending me to this school," he let go of him and set his hand on Zero's chest, "for the purpose of becoming a new "insurance" for you."

"What?" Zero's eyebrowed knotted.

"The purebloods are acting strange in a barely perceptible way, but they're definitely up to something and we're going to catch them by the tail and find out what it is."

* * *

Zero held a hand to his forehead, shielding himself from the sun's glare, "I feel a vampire's presence."

"Bingo. So the intel we got was really true," Kaito said.

We were at St. Delia's, an all girl's school, following a lead on some suspicious behavior that was happening within the confines of this academy. The shadows of the tall stone buildings and fir trees loomed over us, making what I assumed a cheery campus appear somber.

Zero jumped over the ledge of the bridge we were standing on, his black jacket flowed out behind him, "I'll go find out our target and their intentions."

"Yeah, you go do that," I looked down at him until his image disappeared beneath the trees.

Kaito huffed and grimaced, "That urgent need to rush out after his prey, was it just dedication to his job, or was it that he's hoping to be repaid with their blood?"

I put my hands on the edge and cocked my face towards him, "If you're that concerned why don't you go and chase after him?"

"No, I don't want him to think that I'm babysitting him. But..."

I whirled around and sat on the brick, "But… it's okay if I did."

Kaito nodded in agreement, though his slight frown made me rethink his action.

"I'll go see what he's up to then." I fell back and and did a flip, landing on one knee.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Kaito leaning over the side of the bridge, "Be careful, kid," he mouthed. I whipped my head around and tried to stifle the smile that was threatening to form and took off for Zero.

I immediately came to halt when the back of Zero's figure came into view. I reached for the gun in my coat as the same vampire that had stopped Yori at the party passed by him. His arm shot up and repeated my movement, but he stopped as the vampire stilled, quietly muttering something to Zero underneath her parasol. She continued walking past him while she talked and Zero finally turned in my direction.

I got closer as his eyes widened and his hand covered his face in reaction to something that she had said, it slowly lowered and I caught the end of their conversation, "Just disappear pureblood, don't piss me off more than this."

The vampire turned away and walked past me, an eerie grin quietly ghosted her lips.

Zero's face contorted into nothing like I've seen before. It was maddening and I clamped onto my gun from fear. It was the face of a vampire who missed catching his prey, and who saw his victim escape him before he could make a meal out of it or something, that  _face._

An arm jotted out in front of me and Kaito held me against his back.

"Kaito." I said, eyes still fixated on Zero.

He looked at me for a second, frowning and turned his gaze back to Zero.

"You are truly making one hell of a face right now." Kaito paused, softening his expression.

"I'll rush back to the association and report about what happened at this school," he pointed at Zero, "And as for you, you're going to take three days off or so and go see the doctor in charge to prescribe you some heavy-duty sleeping pills. I'm serious here. Get some rest. This break is required for the sake of your work."

Zero and I watched him speechless as he continued, fueled by the sight of seeing Zero react the way he did, "Start by going to visit your family at the cemetery. I bet you haven't gone there since forever, have you?"

He shook his head no in response.

"Do things right and buy some flowers beforehand. We may live in a world where we're constantly near the vampires, but even if vampires were to have feelings comparable to those of people there is still a definitive difference between us and them. The difference…" Kaito stopped trying to find the correct words.

I crept my hands towards his, as soon as he felt it he grasped it fiercely and I leaned my forehead into his back closing my eyes.

"That difference is that we try to erect graves to remember those of us that have left us behind, don't we? Even when there's nothing left to bury inside that grave. Whether our ways are "better" than theirs or not, this isn't about that, you understand? This is us being  _different_ from them. So go to the cemetery and get that difference in mind well… and don't show me again a face like the one you made."

Zero nodded and his lips turned into a hard line. He started to walk not looking back after what Kaito had said, I'm sure his silence was the result of his own remorse over that momentary loss of humanity.

We trailed after him also not saying a word. Kaito's long speech was very much about Zero as it was also about himself. His own face remained stone like, but I could see the shattered pieces that lied within. A cord had struck, reminding him of a past memory, and it had broken a piece of him again when it resurfaced.

We reached the place to part ways and I let go of Kaito's hand which I didn't notice had been holding on to mine the whole time. I darted forward and tapped Zero on the back and he turned around, his face still looking sullen.

I grabbed his arm and reached into my pocket pulling out keys and placing them into his hand. I closed his fingers into a fist, making sure that he had them.

"Here, take it."

Zero's eyebrows knitted together, "What is it?"

"They're for my bike. I know it take a while to get there, to your family."

The cemetery where his loved ones lied was the exact one all of our loved ones lied. It was specially designated for hunters and I knew exactly how long it took to get there, having visited the place so often in my past.

"...thanks," he said and tilted his head forward. He stalked off and Kaito returned to my side, once again holding onto my hand. We watched him until he disappeared from our view.


End file.
